MI6 faker guilty of stalking

A man who convinced his girlfriend he was an MI6 agent and placed spyware on her phone has been found guilty of stalking her after their split.

Peter Moran, 56, has been remanded in custody to await sentencing following the guilty verdict at Hove Crown Court this morning.

The martial arts coach, who represented himself after sacking several lawyers in the run-up to the trial, asked the judge for a solicitor before he was taken from the dock.

During the trial, Hove Crown Court heard the woman saw a computer screen with lots of tabs with her name and face on when she went to his Hove flat weeks after they split to tell him to stop harassing her.

Her son subsequently found spyware on her phone, which she thought he must have installed when pretending to “clean up” her phone.

He had used it to keep track of her during the five years they were together, during which he would often disappear without warning for days or weeks at a time – absences he explained as MI6 “missions”.

It was only when her adult son moved back in with her in 2019 and witnessed his erratic controlling behaviour that she realised she needed to end the relationship.

But even after she told him she wanted no further contact, he bombarded her with messages, some detailing of her phone use, demanding she account for messages and falsely accusing her of cheating on him.

He also turned up at her home and workplace, sometimes with a bunch of flowers demanding a reconciliation, sometimes hurling abuse, and once banging on her windows until she returned his engagement ring.

After she confronted him at his flat, he threatened to email intimate pictures of them to her friends and colleagues if she called the cops.

But she did contact police, and when they searched his flat, they found a small amount of cannabis and a fake passport in the name of Raven Clay – his fictional MI6 alter ego.

Moran said the cannabis had been planted, and the passport was obviously a fake used for what he described as “roleplay”.

During the trial, the woman told the court: “About six months after we met, he started to introduce the fact he did something else for a living, other than sports coaching.

“He said he was part of MI6, an active member and he was often called away for missions.

“It was so insidious and so slow and the detail around it was so in depth that I began to believe it and to be honest, I thought why would you want to make this stuff up and get caught out?

“The stories became very elaborate and detailed and he would disappear supposedly because he was on a mission somewhere and in a dangerous situation.”

Moran was found guilty of stalking the woman from October 2019 to January 2020, and of possession of cannabis. He was found not guilty of possessing a fake passport.

After the verdict, Moran asked to be let out on bail, but this was denied by Her Honour Judge Christine Henson.

He also asked to see a solicitor.

She said: “You have had a number of solicitors or barristers representing you. You have chosen to part company with them and represent yourself.

“Given the facts of this case and the way you have conducted yourself, the landscape has changed in my judgement and it’s right that you remain in custody.

“Bail is revoked.”

She ordered a pre-sentence psychiatric report and adjourned sentencing until 28 April.